Seed priming increases the vigor of seeds and seedlings through metabolic and biochemical processes occurring during controlled hydration, followed by dehydration. In the field, seeds are exposed to hydration-dehydration events in and on the soil after dispersal, as in seed priming. Nevertheless, seed priming has been sparsely tested on desiccation-sensitive seeds, which are vulnerable to climate change effects. We evaluated the effect of two priming methods on seeds from two tropical rainforest species: Cupania glabra and Cymbopetalum baillonii. For hydropriming, the seeds were fully hydrated and then dehydrated to three dehydration levels. For natural priming, the seeds were buried for 12 days in either closed forest or forest gap. Primed seeds were sown in 1% agar medium and placed in an environmental chamber. The growth of the seedlings from the highest germination priming treatments was evaluated for 1 year in the field. Our results showed that for C. glabra and C. baillonii, hydroprimed seeds varied in their germination response, depending on the degree of their dehydration. However, for C. baillonii, hydropriming seems to invigorate seeds, compared to non-imbibed seeds of the same dehydration level. Natural priming increased germination speed in both species without any difference between closed forest and forest gap. Moreover, seeds with natural priming had a higher final germination percentage than seeds with hydropriming. Seedlings from seeds with natural priming showed a higher growth rate than the controls in both species, whereas hydropriming produced a similar effect in C. glabra. Both priming methods could be used for restoration practices with the studied species, natural priming being a novel method. The ecological implications of priming in desiccation sensitive seeds are discussed in this study.

通过控制水合作用，随后进行脱水过程中发生的代谢和生化过程，种子引发可以增强种子和幼苗的活力。在田间，种子播散后，种子会在土壤中和土壤中暴露于水合作用和脱水事件中，就像启动种子一样。但是，已经对干燥敏感的种子进行了种子启动试验，而种子易受气候变化影响。我们评估了两种引发方法对来自两种热带雨林物种：Cupania glabra和Cymbopetalum baillonii种子的影响。。为了进行加水处理，将种子充分水合，然后脱水至三个脱水水平。为了自然引发，将种子在封闭的森林或森林间隙中埋葬12天。准备好的种子播种在1％琼脂培养基中，并放入环境室中。在田间评估了从最高发芽引发处理开始的幼苗生长情况，为期一年。我们的结果表明，对于C. glabra和C. baillonii，加水引发的种子发芽反应各不相同，这取决于它们的脱水程度。但是，对于巴氏梭菌与相同脱水水平的未吸水种子相比，加水引发似乎使种子更加活跃。自然引发增加了两个物种的发芽速度，而封闭森林和森林间隙之间没有任何差异。此外，自然引发的种子比水引发的种子具有更高的最终发芽率。在两个物种中，自然引发的种子的幼苗显示出比对照更高的生长速率，而水引发对光滑毛衣藻产生类似的作用。两种引发方法均可用于所研究物种的恢复实践，自然引发是一种新方法。在这项研究中讨论了在干燥敏感种子中引发的生态意义。